Tip Drill - Seahawks Linkage

 

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I/O:  Tarvaris Jackson was 'lightly throwing the ball around' and 'has a chance to play' against the Browns.

CRUNCH:  My son and daughter were distraught at this news:  I THOUGHT YOU SAID WHITEHURST WAS GOING TO PLAY!  SOME DAD YOU ARE!  REMEMBER HOMER, YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND EAST BY STARING AT THE SUN!  was the least offensive of it.

My initial reaction was puzzled:  "Well, hang on, what does 'throwing the ball around' mean?"  I mean, I can flip a ball with my forearm if I have a ripped labrum...

Still, I'm counting on you G-Money for at least 4x Charlie Whitehurst starts.  We know where to find you.  Somewhere in Colorado.

........

I super-slo-mo'ed the Giants game a bunch of times, the last 3-4 drives.  It looked like Whitehurst got into rhythm REAL quick, like five plays quick.  I like a QB who bobs up over the line-chaos to throw, and I like a QB who flicks the ball suddenly without CG travel, way downfield, on a line.

Whoever is the most optimistic on Whitehurst, I'll call and raise.  Two chips, not ten.  

I remember that Terry Bradshaw was laughed and jeered at.  For a real long time.  Another guy who didn't start until he was like 28:  Jake Delhomme.  In my day, Ken Stabler didn't start until he was 28.  Old man Dr. D has seen plenty of guys written off farther than Whitehurst has been.

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I/O:  Some funny stuff from Giants fans as the game was ongoing.  Here is the NY reaction when the busted coverage gave Doug Baldwin the go-ahead TD.

CRUNCH:  If you slo-mo that busted coverage, you see both Giants DB's lunge toward the short receiver, allowing Baldwin to run by them.  They didn't quit on the play due to a flag; they assumed that Whitehurst would make the wussy throw to the short man, and they wanted to take an interception to the house.

...

One nice difference between baseball fans and football fans:  baseball fans think a bit less with their cajones.  There's a bit less testosterone, and therefore a bit more serotonin, in the discussion.

The Giants fans evaluate absolutely everything in terms of whether Giants players bothered to impose their wills.  :- )  A Seahawks DL blows in for a whirlwind safety and .... the Giants' O-Line obviously just didn't care about the outcome of the play...

With baseball fans, if Justin Smoak strikes out against Dan Haren, we're at least dimly aware of the fact that we deploy only 50% of the players on the field.

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Comments

1

And if he's "throwing the ball a little" and is "way ahead of schedule" then it sounds to me like it wasn't a Grade 3 strain, because you can't really rehab that without surgery.
Grade 2 is a 3-6 week injury, normally, but because it normally happens in a weight room with some guy trying to bench too much iron, I'm curious to see when the Seahawks would let him back on the field.
You should get at least a couple of Whitehurst starts, Doc, but I wouldn't count out an IR trip from Tarvaris just yet.  He'll have a check in and they'll see what kind of progress he's making, and if he needs surgery, they can just shut him down then.
~G

2

Supposing that Jackson actually has the Grade 3 tear ... NFL teams seem to see a huge benefit to keeping the other teams guessing who *might* play.
Seems a bit overdone, since (1) the Browns will prepare for Whitehurst and (2) how do you prepare for a guy who's never played, anyway?
But yeah.  If Jackson's back out there quickly, then I don't see how it was ever a Grade 3 to the major pec muscle, at least as the medical texts describe it.

3
Nathan H.'s picture

I ain't a terribly big Whitehurst fan. I've watched him play and came away way well below impressed. That being said, I said similar things about some chump named Hasselbeck when we had a bona-fide starter on the roster named Dilfer. I love being wrong like that.
IF Whitehurst is able to blossom, now would be the time that he would have to flash. He's been able to absorb this offense for over a year now and has done enough studying to know how to prepare, work on his flaws, and develop his game along with this current crop of players. If he doesn't evolve and, after the first quarter, continues to lock-on to his first read only and to throw inaccurately, well, I'll be making nachos well into quarter #3 and go back to the tape later in the week when I'm less emotional.

4

Love the full disclosure on Hass, too there bro' ...
One question.  Whitehurst has what, two starts all-time?  Is start #3 or #4 really the deadline for playing like a finished product?
By that logic, wouldn't Tarvaris have been powerflushed after the first two games this year?  ... oh, wait... guess we made your point for you ... :- )
.........
That does seem to be the consensus:  Whitehurst proves himself a top-15 QB in the next two-three games, or we move on...
Another Q I have with that is --- > is Tarvaris Jackson himself a top-15 QB?  What if TJ is #28 in the league and Whitehurst is #23?

5
Nathan H.'s picture

You're right, I should make myself clearer.
My thought process is such that if CW fails to show indicators that he's evolved from a mediocre quarterback (improving progression-reads, accuracy) despite having:
A) 5 years of access to NFL coaching, film, etc. B) 1+ years to study his current playbook and C) 2 full weeks of practice with his team as the starter
Then you can chalk me up to believing that he will not likely evolve under any circumstances. All I'm asking for are flashes that his flaws have been successfully addressed.
How much time is appropriate to give a quarterback? 3 games? A full season? How would you make that determination? I'm genuinely curious.

6
Nathan H's picture

What seperates a #23 QB from a #28 QB? What are the characteristics of a successful QB in today's NFL?
With my 12/1000 light bulbs on I propose, in order:
Decision-making, Accuracy, Leadership, Arm Strength
Decision-making is a fairly broad category that includes the ability to recognize a defense and adjust accordingly (thus increasing the number of possibly acceptable decisions), ability to progress to your next read (thus increasing the number of decisions available), and actually deciding to execute the correct decision.
The other characteristics should be fairly obvious.
I guess this could be simplified to: Mental ability to make the appropriate play and Physical ability to make the appropriate play. I'm just noodling here. Am I missing anything?
How much of each category do CW and T-Jack have? How do we measure it? How mobile would that number be? Would that range have a ceiling? How can we tell? *sigh* I don't know if I have the wherewithal to dive into Football Outsiders, collect and watch tape, and formulate a thesis on this.

7
Nathan H.'s picture

That Browns game was one of the worst quarterbacked games I've ever watched. Doc, anything redeeming that I've missed?

9
OBF's picture

that a QB START OUT WITH (0 comp, 0att, 0 yards, etc) a QB rating of 39.58!!!!  The seahawks would have litterally been better off just not even having a QB on the field!!!!!  Sure wish we would have traded for Kyle Orton now!!!

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